For anyone reading this blog for the first time, here’s a quick overview. In this blog I will be exploring different types of energy sources, how they work, and the differences in their utilization in the United States vs Germany. Today’s energy source will be nuclear!
How Does Nuclear Power Work?
Nuclear energy is produced in a similar way to many other energy sources: it produces energy by boiling water, which produces steam, which then turns turbines on generators to produce electricity. They cause the boiling of this water through the process of fission. Fission occurs when Uranium atoms split inside of a nuclear reactor. This is a self sustaining chain reaction which continues until all of the Uranium has reacted. The process of fission is used in both “Boiling Water Reactors” and “Pressurized Water Reactors,” which utilize slightly different methods to create steam and power their generator.
Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power
Nuclear Power brings both many positives and negatives in its process of energy production. A main benefit of nuclear power is its lack of air pollution that it causes. Nuclear power plants to not cause any greenhouse gas emissions, which leads it do be much better for the air than any fossil fuels. Plus, even though nuclear energy is a nonrenewable resource, it is estimated that there is still enough Uranium available for about 70-80 more years of usage. It is also more reliable than other more environmentally friendly options, such as wind and solar, whose outputs may be affected by the weather and time of day.
Despite these benefits, nuclear power also has many drawbacks. First of all, even though nuclear power plants do not cause greenhouse gas emissions, they still have many environmental drawbacks. The first environmental issue with nuclear is the fact that mining for uranium is not an environmentally friendly process. There is also the issue of all of the radioactive waste caused by nuclear power plants, around 2,000 metric tons a year, which cannot easily be disposed of due to the harm that the radioactivity could cause to organisms. There is also a large concern for the safety surrounding power plants due to the possibility of nuclear accidents, such as the ones which occurred in Chernobyl and Fukushima.
Nuclear Power in the United States vs Germany
As of right now, the United States creates about one third of the world’s nuclear energy, making it the planet’s largest producer. There are currently 99 power plants in the United States, with 2 more on the way, which produced 805 billion Kilowatt Hours (kWh) in 2016- almost one fifth of the United States’ total energy output. These power plants are located across 30 states, and their popularity is likely due to their rising efficiency and decreasing cost. Another large contributing factor to the high percentage of America’s energy from nuclear is also the encouragement that it receives from US policies and funding, in addition to the increasingly positive view of nuclear power that has been adapted by the US public in the past 30 years.
Germany, however, has a very different approach to nuclear power. Germany currently has eight nuclear reactors which account for about 14% of the country’s total energy, which is in contrast to 2011 when Germany had 17 reactors that produced about 25% of the country’s energy. This is due to the phase-out of nuclear power which is happening in Germany right now. This phase-out of nuclear energy in Germany outlines a plan to remove all power plants by the year 2022, which is already seen in action with the shutdown of 9 plants since 2011. This phase-out is due largely to an extremely negative view of nuclear power by the German public, whose speaking out and protests have led to these governmental actions to reduce the use of nuclear energy. Germany’s dislike of nuclear began in the 1970’s with an anti-nuclear movement, due to the German population’s distrust of nuclear power because of its possible dangers. This movement was strengthened after the Three Mile Island accident in the United States, and caused even more protests in Germany. Finally, Angela Merkel put policy into place to begin the nuclear phase-out plan.
Overall, it is clear to see that the United States and Germany have entirely opposite goals and plans when it comes to nuclear power. The US continues to grow their nuclear industry and build more plants, while Germany is attempting to remove nuclear from their available energy sources completely. Both of these countries’ attitudes and actions are highly driven by public policy and public opinion, and both lead to a future of improved energy usage based on each nation’s values.
The first fact that struck me is the magnitude of the size difference between America and Germany. The fact that eight nuclear reactors could account for about 14% of any countries energy is just, to put it plainly, foreign. I am used to living in a large American sized world — from my nuclear power to my hamburger size — in almost all aspects America is big.
World leaders often talk about what percentage of a countries power comes from different sources as it is an easier metric to compare across international borders. Yet, in the environmental sense, it is important to get across that countries are not the same. The United States uses approx 3,867 TWh each year. Germany only uses 533. This is an important distinction for two reasons: First, It will be harder for the United States to make the switch to renewable sources of energy in significant percentages. Second, when/if the US does make the switch the global ramifications will be enormous compared to other smaller countries making the switch.
Significant thought should be put into deciding whether or not nuclear power is something we want as a world because if we do now is the time to install that infrastructure.
Your posts are both interesting and educational, teaching me so much about things I’ve never really had the chance to educate myself on before. I’m amazed by your knowledge and insight on this topic, as you do a great job of explaining everything thoroughly.
I am extremely interested int he development of nuclear power, so your post was very interesting to me! I think that nuclear power has amazing capabilities for powering the world with so little negative outputs. The problem is really only what to do with the radioactive waste that is in fact produced by the plants. As a future scientist, I know there has be be a way to either use this radioactive material for something else, or find a way to speed up the radioactive decay. IF we could increase the rate at which the radiation dissipates and then can use this product in a reaction to regenerate uranium, this would be the perfect process. If we could find a way to dispose of this material in a more effective manor than simply burying it into a mountain, I think nuclear power would be our best option moving forward for energy security. I also think we should start the development of a similar process for another isotope to use once we inevitably run out of uranium.